Veiko Õunpuu

Veiko Õunpuu (born 16 March 1972 in Saaremaa) is an Estonian film director and screenwriter who is best known for his artistic movies Autumn Ball (Sügisball, 2007) and The Temptation of St. Tony (Püha Tõnu kiusamine, 2009). Õunpuu's films are usually slow paced artistic movies with eccentric characters. He has studied literature, semiotics and painting. In 2007 Veiko Õunpuu made his debut feature "Autumn Ball", a pitch black comedy about loneliness, despair and hope that brought home the Venice Orrizzonti award, had cinema distribution in Europe and U.S. and was acclaimed as the best film in 100 years of Estonian film history by the Estonian Film Critics' Union. His second film "The Temptation of St. Tony" premiered at Sundance and received European Talent Award. The film was Estonian submission to Foreign Language Academy Awards. "Free Range. The Ballad of Approving of the World" opened in Berlinale and was yet again Estonian submission for Foreign Language Academy Awards. All of Veiko's films have screened and won prizes at prominent film festivals. Veiko Õunpuu was chosen as one of the 100 most intriguing contemporary film directors by the book "10*10 in Film" by Phaidon Publishing.